Computex 2014: The ASUS Booth Tour
by Ian Cutress on June 11, 2014 11:45 AM ESTEducation and Business
One element of ASUS’ business that we as consumers tend not to realize is the business-to-business aspect. These are corporate clients interested in an ASUS solution to their IT infrastructure. On show were two sides of the same coin – the models geared towards education (typically lower performance parts but backed up by security) and business models that require higher performance or specific functionality.
Education based PCs have to be able to allow multiple users to interact and sign-in, and are often controlled by a single machine in the IT supervisors office. The model that caught my attention was a unit based on Bay Trail-D, the quad-core Celeron J1900:
The VESA mount it straight design is a stark difference to the big desktops back when I was in high school, suggesting the student can focus more on what is on the screen rather than a wide range of noises coming from the box underneath the desk.
As mentioned, another element is security, such as students attaching unauthorized devices, or teachers needing to disable the workstations in the classroom in order to get attention. ASUS software for this from a central terminal was on display, but also for the more digital signage aspect (moving into business), there is per-unit software too:
One unit on the business side caught my attention essentially because the CPU it listed (i7-4785T) is a Haswell refresh version of a 35W CPU that is not on sale to the public. It was housed in a small chassis capable of add-ons such as an ODD:
The left hand side of this 1-liter unit contains the whole system (which can be VESA mounted) whereas the modular nature means that the business can add in other components such as ODD and storage to the devices that need it.
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lemon1510 - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
Where did you got the specs from? The official ASUS site says "GTX 750 Ti" as GPU while you refer to a 750M which is in a completely different league in terms of performance =S.Ian Cutress - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
You are right, the GR8 is a 750 Ti - that's what I wrote in our original news item when it was announced. Corrected.rocktober13 - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
It would be nice if ASUS initially offered a version of the GR8 without Windows 8 to hit a lower price point. I would rather have a Ubuntu + Steam (with in home streaming) + XMBC combo. More functionality than SteamOS and available now. Also, I hope the included Windows 8 is the Pro version otherwise it's another $100 to add WMC with the basic edition.rocktober13 - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
*XBMCCalaverasGrande - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
surprised there are not more UHD and 4k models.Not everyone wants a 30" monitor on their desk. I'm hoping to see more 24" UHD or 4K displays. Sure there is the Dell, but I kind of hate how Dells current industrial design looks with those awkward stands.
TylerGrunter - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
Wasn´t the MeMO Pad 8 going to be out with the Atom Z3580 and have a FullHD panel?From their own press releas:
http://press.asus.com/PressReleases/p/ASUS-Present...
I guess there are two models, the ME181C and the ME581CL, but I find terribly confusing that they call them both MeMO Pad 8
churchgeek - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
A 10-but display!pandemonium - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
ASUS really is becoming 'the' brand of choice for all of their vested markets.Thanks for the coverage!
X3ON - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
The ROG GX500 looks pretty interesting,The top and bottom shells are made og brushed aluminium, but what about the area around the keyboard? Is it plastic or matte black aluminium?
Nadrik23518 - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
Any idea when and if Asus will offer to market a 24 inch monitor with G-sync? Why is Asus siting on G-sync? Can they give the buying community a firm date of when they will offer a monitor with G-sync? I have held my next purchase of a gaming monitor for over a year now. If all they are going to do is talk about G-sync and show mock-up monitors without ever coming to market with a product, I will purchase my second choice.